A Day in the Life of an Intern at Belfast Music Production

We caught up with Colm who is interning at BMP in Belfast.

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The Big Music Project has part-funded several music industry internships. The aim is to inspire and create incredible opportunities for young people across the country who want to get into the music business.

We’re sitting down with each of our interns to find out how they’re getting on. Here’s Colm who has been working as an intern at Belfast Music Production Academy.

Hey Colm, how are you?

Hey, Big Music. I’m doing well thanks!

So, you have been working at BMP for quite some time now. How long has it been?

Yeah, I have been interning at Belfast Music Production for almost 2 months. The time has flown by!

Yeah, it really has! What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office?

Make a cup of coffee. I then check the online booking systems to see what clients are booked in for the day. After that, I check the messaging platforms and respond to any customer queries or requests.

Okay cool. Talk us through your day-to-day tasks.

Every day is varied at BMP Academy. Some days I am running DJ live streams, DJ lessons and music production courses. Other days, I am helping the marketing team promote up and coming artists along with assisting in admin duties. There’s never a dull day at BMP Academy.

That’s good to hear. What’s your favourite thing to do each day?

Run the live DJ streams. The streams give DJs a platform to showcase their skills as well as promote themselves as artists. It also gives me the opportunity to listen to a lot of electronic music and with networking with the DJs.

Networking is certainly key to progressing within the industry, for sure. Tell us about projects you’ve worked on and what you liked and didn’t like about them?

Along with the scheduled BMP Academy streams, courses etc., Padraig (the boss) is always throwing spanners in the works.

We were recently given the opportunity to showcase the talents that use BMP Academy by curating a night in one of Belfast’s biggest clubs. On 4 days’ notice, we had to organise and promote the night, building up a team of promoters, setting up social media accounts and organising the DJs that were to play. It was a stressful few days but thankfully, it paid off in the end and was a success.

We also created a social media campaign for a local trance DJ called Shugz. We increased the reach and viewership of one of his videos by over 100 thousand views over the space of a week.

Currently, we are working on reaching out to cross-community groups to use BMP Academy as a hub to learn electronic music production and to help bridge the still evident religious divide in Belfast through group projects and day courses at the academy.

What an exciting way to use music. What kind of challenges do you face day-to-day?

With it only being myself and Padraig as the main workforce, things can get quite hectic at times when the workload increases. Being as organised as possible helps overcome these challenges when they do arise.

Great. What have you learnt about the world of work?

To take every opportunity that arises, even if it is on 4 days’ notice haha.

Haha, yep! What advice would you give others looking to apply for internships?

If the opportunity is there and it’s something you are interested in, go for it! You will only regret not applying if it passes. If you are lucky enough to be given an internship, put 100% in it and come with your own ideas on how to further the company, not just following what you are told to do. Make the most of it!

Good advice Colm. What do you want to do next?

I am hoping to begin looking for work in the audio post-production field. Putting my degree to use and beginning my career in this sector.

That’s a very precise area of music, good for you! In an ideal world, where will you be in five years’ time?

In five years’ time, I would like to be established in the audio post-production sector and be on route to starting my own audio post-production company. Who knows, there might be internships available there at some stage in the future!

Haha! Thanks, Colm.

Haha, thanks, Big Music.

Just like Colm, if you are passionate about getting your foot in the door of the creative industries, check out our Newsboard for hints and tips on making those first steps.

If you are inspired by Colm and interested in a paid internship, check out our Jobs board which is always updated with the newest entry-level roles from around the UK.